


HAUNTED

by CodeBreaker



Series: THE DIRECTIONS OF ABSTRACT COLOURS [3]
Category: ONF (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe (Alien Series), Blood, Death, Fire, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Character Death, but like the death is about someone who doesn't have a name, they're not totally important besides being a ghost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26694571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodeBreaker/pseuds/CodeBreaker
Summary: you know what they say:death always comes in threesa series of spooky shorts for spooky season
Series: THE DIRECTIONS OF ABSTRACT COLOURS [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823824
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Hallonfween 2020





	1. IT SLEEPS IN THE WALLS

Jaeyoung hated this house.

It made too many noises at night, had too many shadows, the surrounding area much too quiet. More than that, there was the occasion where it would be too cold even though the air conditioning was turned off and it was the middle of summer.

But other than that, he had no real reason to be so creeped out by the house. Well, that's what the others told him, anyway. 

Still, it didn't change the fact that there was _something_ about this house that made him incredibly uneasy. 

The house was old, but it did not look it. Not that it mattered what it looked like, it was clear enough that it was. It just _felt_ old. It was old enough that Jaeyoung was half convinced that there was no way it wasn't haunted.

It had been the first of October when the first incident happened. It was well into the night when he saw it, or felt it really; he hadn't actually seen anything. The only reason he had been out of bed in the first place was because he needed to pee. Half asleep, he stumbled down the hall and into the washroom. The sudden flood of lights when he flipped off the switch was enough to draw out a quiet groan from him. 

The lights flickered. Strange, maybe they needed to change out the lightbulbs.

Again.

But perhaps, the strangest thing was not the flickering lights. It would be the figure in the mirror that watched his back as he left the washroom, eyes following and presence largely ignored that night. He would not say a word to anyone the next morning about the breathing he felt brushing against his neck, trying to convince himself it had been a draft and not a ghost.

However, this would not be the last appearance of their resident spectre. This would only be the start of it.

The shadow man; he was the house's resident ghost. He was exactly what his name told you he was; simply a shadow figure in the form of a person. At first, he was simply just _there_ , watching them from the corner of the room. Just silently watching them go about their day. It was always so very unnerving. It wasn't entirely clear whether the shadow man actually had eyes but it was always obvious that he was watching them, whether he had any or not.

The first time any of them started to think that maybe the house was a little haunted was when they were all in the basement, playing games and laughing when one of the others lost. 

See, the basement was easily the creepiest part of the house. None of them ever dared to come down here on their own, always taking at least one other person with them. But as creepy as the basement was, there was nothing about it that was creepier than the room that held the the furnace. The door was notoriously difficult to open or close, always needing to be yanked open or body checked to be closed.

But this particular day, the impossible happened.

While they had their backs turned away from the door, it slowly swung open. None of them had noticed initially. In fact, the only reason they noticed at all was when the dog started to growl. It had been odd, the dog never growled. He barely barked. So when they slowly turned and found the door to that room slowly swinging open all on its own, naturally, they all freaked out. 

There was nothing in there. There _never_ was anything in there, besides the furnace. They couldn't blame breezes, there was no drafts or any windows. Even if it were a breeze, there would've been no possible way it would've been strong enough to be able to open the door. It would've taken nothing less than a tornado to be able to open that door. 

That was not the last of it.

The shadow man appeared in mirrors, stalked up and down the hallways, shuffled around the kitchen. It seemed like he liked to shuffle through the cupboards, pots and pans slamming together when he did.

But he never appeared in the basement. Not once. 

There was one time, Jaeyoung and Minkyun were in the basement together, doing the laundry. Then they smelled smoke. They panicked for a long moment before realizing the smoke detectors weren't going off. Their eyes narrowed at each other in confusion. And soon, the smell of smoke disappeared as quickly as it had came. 

See, the house was old. The original owner of the house, who built it almost a century prior, died in that house to a fire. The cause of the fire is unknown, though everyone is sure it had something to do with the owner's habitual smoking. 

His burned body was found dead in the basement. In _that_ room. 

Previous families who lived in the house did not report the shadow man. They, instead, report of a burned man; his skin charred and mangled from the fire that killed him. Some said his eyes dangled from its sockets, others said he didn't have eyes at all. But he never appeared in any other part of the house besides the basement. The shadow man did not appear until recently, and this iteration of the house's resident haunt was not so afraid to appear in the rest of the house.

Where the shadow man had originated from, no one really knows. As far as anyone knew, he had no reason to manifest the way he did. But that was a question that held no answer.

Nevertheless, a part of Jaeyoung was glad he did not have to face the burned man.

Unfortunately, that just would not last for long.

* * *

There were nights where the walls thumped, light knocks as if someone were sitting on the other side rhythmically tapping their fingers against it. Well, if their finger tapping was a hundred times louder than it should've been. Sometimes, the shadow man would step through a wall, almost phasing through it. He supposed you would be able to do that when you didn't have a physical body.

Sometimes he would wake up to the shadow man standing at the foot of his bed, it was almost as if he were staring at his sleep paralysis demon. Except this definitely was not sleep paralysis.

There was another time when he would peer into a mirror to see the shadow man staring at him from over his shoulder. 

No matter where he was, it always felt like he was being watched. 

On the day of Halloween, the house was eerily quiet despite all of them being home. The ticking of the clock sounded much louder than it usually did. 

And the thumping.

It was slow, rhythmic. There would be a quiet knock from somewhere in the walls, followed by a short pause, then another knock. 

_Thump_. _Thump_.

Focusing on anything was difficult when the incessant thumping continued from somewhere in the house; from somewhere in the walls.

Eventually, it died down, muffled and distant. But it was still there, _always there_.

But that was supposed to be it. 

That night, with the moon watching over them from behind dark clouds, everything felt much too still and maybe, much too quiet. It was close to midnight when the noises started again.

Except it wasnt thumping; it was loud scratching, like nails against metal. 

The boys all shared a confused look; it was abnormally loud. But there was only one place they knew of where this sound could be coming from.

The room in the basement.

None of them moved, not a single one of them dared to move. The scratching continued, and started to grow and grow until it was impossibly loud and ear piercing. 

Then it abruptly stopped. 

They would not investigate that room until well into the next day when the sun was at its peak. And what they found was nothing less than terrifying. They'd have nightmares about it for weeks.

At the furthest corner, stuffed between the wall and the furnace was a body. As they yanked opened the door, they were immediately slapped in the face with the smell of smoke and something way too rotten. The skin clung to the skeleton, not that there was much of it. It looked like it had melted off, red where the top layer of burnt skin had peeled off.

Its face was tilted up, staring right at them as they walked in. Its eyes were closed and its mouth twisted into a Cheshire-like sardonic grin. 

And then its eyes shot open. But there were no eyes; where its eyes should have been were simply dark holes, empty and unseeing.

But then the strangest thing happened. 

The body dissolved into a shower of sparks and embers and disappeared with it all, taking the smell of death and smoke with it.

Then it was almost as if nothing were ever there.

* * *

Sometimes, the shadows in the corners of a room moved in ways it should not have, writhing and breathing. Sometimes, things moved when they shouldn't have moved, lights flickered even though the bulbs had just been changed. Occasionally, there would be orchestral music playing over speakers that were not powered on.

There were nights where he could not sleep, his sleeping hours plagued by nightmares that made no sense. Some nights, he dreamed of fire, embers flying from a blaze that did not really exist. Other nights, he would not dream at all and if he had, it was a dream lost to the veil of sleep. 

The shadows would occasionally look much too dark, writhing in ways that would not make sense. 

Maybe the house was haunted. Maybe it was by something nothing less than evil. Or maybe it wasn't worth thinking about too hard.

Jaeyoung never really liked this house anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **insert awkward laughing here
> 
> **SOCIALS**  
> [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/yeolkyuns?s=09)  
> [ tumblr ](https://yeolkyuns.tumblr.com/)  
> [ discord ](https://discord.gg/CZS7Pzk)  
> [ curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/yeolkyuns)


	2. DEAD STARS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> but who can hear you scream out in space?

Changyoon wasn't entirely sure what to make of the scene that laid before him.

He was in the engine room; the generators that laid towards the back behind the engines had been destroyed. The darkness around him was only interrupted by the light of the flashlight in his hand. Bodies littered the floor; he did not bother to check them, he did not have time to. Stepping over one to make his way to the back towards the backup generator, the coppery smell of blood flooded his nostrils. Changyoon did his best to ignore it.

The quiet was unnerving, the silence was only interrupted by loud yet distant banging that echoed off the walls. Everything hurt, being flung several feet into a wall wasn't entirely ideal, and boy, did it hurt like a bitch. He had heard strange noises, like the hissing that sounded vaguely like a burst pipe but only if you filtered it through a radio several times. There was the sound of something scuttling through the vents; the sounds of distant screams and gunshots.

Anxiety burned in his gut but he did his best to ignore it; there wasn't much he could do besides hope that the others were alright.

But there was the little voice in his head, chiming in every so often and reminded that they were out in the middle of space, surrounded by stars and shipwrecks.

There was no one else out here to help them, the closest help they had would take ages to arrive and if they don't sort out their shit by the time they got here, then it would've been pointless. 

Deep breaths, he told himself, letting the panic sink in now would surely get him killed.

There was something else on the ship with them, he knew it; no human being could make the same otherworldly screeching that this thing made. 

His hand hovered the radio, which was actually a makeshift walkie talkie at best, but it had been broken when he had been thrown into the wall. 

Then he froze.

Outside, there were heavy footsteps. Much too heavy. Definitely not human.

Changyoon's eyes widened before his eyes darted around the room, the flashlight moving in a similar manner. There was a single vent but . . . surely, it was too small. Not even a little kid could fit through there.

Right?

He could hear his own heartbeat as he moved to hide, being as silent as possible as he did.

Whatever this thing was stopped right in front of the door. Then he risked hoping that maybe it wouldn't find him in here.

* * *

To say Jaeyoung was terrified would be understating it; he did not dare to peek from his hiding spot, listening silently as that **_thing_** darted into a corridor and out of the command room.

The command room was the largest room in the ship and situated just behind the cockpit; it was a straight shoot there but he figured running there would lead to death. It was, very ironically, a dead end.

When he was sure it was long gone, he finally let himself breathe. Though, he knew he couldn't relax just yet, whatever that creature was, it was stupidly fast. He was almost sure that it would be able to cross the ship and back in the time it took him to even leave the room. He did not dare look at the carnage it left behind; the smell of blood, smoke, and death that lingered in the air was enough to tell him.

Above the door, that he guess was the way it had left, was a few stray wires. Sparks flew off of them; he sighed. It wasn't as if he was planning on following, much less since he was unarmed. 

His breathing was uneven, that was something he would need to work through as his eyes scanned the area in search of any other exit that didn't lead to inevitable death. Jaeyoung had been lucky this time, and he was afraid the next time he were to be trapped in a room with that creature, he would not be even a fraction as lucky as he had been. 

Everything felt too overwhelming; what little light there was felt too bright, sounds seemed too loud. He flinched every time he heard his own footsteps, despite knowing they were much too quiet and too soft to be that thing. 

He had slowly picked his way across the large room and around the debris, avoiding fire and sparks, keeping an eye around him as much as he can; there wasn't much point, it was difficult to see anything in the dark, and with such poor lighting. The flames only served to cast harsh shadows that moved with its fickle flickering, the emergency lights were mostly broken and the ones that did work flickered like it was haunted by the ghosts of all who had died just then. 

Even after he left the room, the haunting chills of screaming before the abrupt silence would give him nightmares to last a few lifetimes. 

Jaeyoung only hoped that this one wouldn't end so abruptly just like all those in the room he had just left, glassy eyed and mouths still hung open, screaming for help that would never come. 

But they were out in space, far away from any inhabited planet or man-piloted ship; no one was coming to help them.

Behind him, another screech sounded; long and haunting, earpiercing as it travelled through the whole ship. It was almost like a warcry. It was enough to send shivers down his spine. It was definitely enough for him to quicken his pace.

Behind him, it was hunting, and every one on board knew: floating out in space, you do not get to escape the thing hunting you so easily.

* * *

Hyojin watched Seungjun carefully.

They had been friends for longer than he could remember, and in all of Hyojin's time of knowing him, there were very few times he could remember Seungjun looking this anxious. Or this scared.

The four of them had long left the medbay and headed for the armory, only to be stopped by the doors being locked tight. With the power out, they couldn't open it. The emergency power was not enough to keep the ship running and be able to work the lock system, which means they would have to break through if they were that desperate.

But, even if they were and even with all four of them, there was no way they were strong enough to break down the door. 

So they opted to go the long way. It would cost them time, and it held far too great a risk that Hyojin was far too uncomfortable with. The chaos the ensued the explosion was enough to turn everyone on each other, the panic was enough for everyone to suddenly take an "everyone for themselves" mentality. 

It was ridiculous, but he supposed fear does weird things to people. 

"Do you think they're okay?" Yuto's voice was quiet, soft, and most of all, scared. 

"Hard to say," he told him, his answer didn't change very much from the first few times that question had been asked. There had been no point in lying, they all knew better and were smart enough to see through it.

"It'd be nice if we can contact them somehow, comms went down with the power. The emergency power isn't enough to sustain a full comm system." Seungjun muttered. There was an edge to his voice, though barely noticeable. He was stating the obvious at this point, this was information they all knew.

But he supposed it was fine. There was too much that they didn't know, too many question marks. 

Minkyun had been uncharacteristically quiet, his eyes kept wandering though he appeared more lost in thought than anything. He finally spoke up after a long silence.

"There's something on the ship with us, isn't there?"

The question hung in the air, almost like a balloon. But it held a weight, a grim heaviness that settled uneasily on them. The fact that none of them answered only served to further their uncertainty. They ultimately did not know enough. 

"I think . . . I think there might be . . . " Hyojin's voice trailed off; another loud screech followed by distant screams and gunshots. They definitely were not the only ones on the ship anymore.

They heard it scuttling through the vents earlier while they were in medbay, but they had been fortunate: it bypassed them completely, going off to a different area of the ship.

"Should we check all the hotspots first? Engine, command-" Seungjun suddenly stopped, his gaze meeting Hyojin's. There was an unspoken conversation there; going to any of those places was a death trap, going to any of those places only meant they had a death wish.

And he got the feeling none of them were quite ready to die out here in space where no one would find them. Images of shipwrecks floating there in the endless void that they had passed flashed through his head. They, too, once held people who were now likely dead.

But they had no good way to find the others. Then he had a thought: would it be better if they did? Would it make them easier targets then? What would they even do after they found each other?

Even with all these thoughts whirling around in his head like a cosmic storm, it hurt more knowing that this might be very well the last place they'll ever see. It hurt more knowing that they were alone.

Whatever risk there was, it wasn't entirely uncalculated. They knew that they were in for some danger as soon as they set foot on this contraption.

He hadn't noticed that they had walked in a circle. The others looked perplexed, deep in thought as if trying to figure out where to go next. Was there anywhere to go?

They didn't have time (did they ever have time?). So he led them down a different turn, one they hadn't taken the first time through, down a dark corridor with wires that hung from the ceiling like electric vines.

And somewhere on the ship, the creature was still on the hunt.

And they were sitting ducks. 

He was determined; at the very least, if they were going to die here, he would die knowing he tried.

Because no one was coming for them, no one would find them in time to save them from this nightmare. And when someone did finally find them, it would already be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes, part 2 to aliens au
> 
> I didn't have the heart to go all the way w killing any of them so their fate is ultimately up to your imagination :D


	3. GHOST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, not every ghost that haunts your house is out to get you
> 
> Or else, ghost!Hyojin is tired of watching Minkyun forget to take care of himself because he's too busy worrying about school and day to day drama

"Dude, I'm pretty sure there's a ghost here," Minkyun had said, though Changyoon didn't look like he believed him, "It's started cooking for me. Pretty sure it's judging my eating habits."

Changyoon snorted in response, half in amusement at the idea of a ghost cooking and half in disbelief. Minkyun was somehow not entirely surprised when he actually humored the idea of a ghost actually cooking for him, however. Maybe the sheer amusement of the idea just got him going.

"Anyone would judge your eating habits," he retorted, throwing a playful glare Minkyun's way, "though, I'm pretty sure you actually forget to eat most of the time, anyway."

"I absolutely do not forget most of the time, I'll have you know," he argued, but even he knew that Changyoon was right. But it was less that he forgot, and more that he typically ended up hyperfocusing on any given task he had been doing. It really did seem like he forgets to eat most of the time to anyone who didn't know better.

And Changyoon knew better; he just liked to pick on him as often as he can.

That had been the end of it. Well, the end of that particular conversation, anyway. 

It was Saturday, and unfortunately, Changyoon didn't have anywhere to be today.

So, here he was, home at their dorm and bothering Minkyun when he knew they both had midterms coming up in a week or two. 

Minkyun hated midterms but he hated that he was a perfectionist more; he surprised himself when he managed to sit himself down for more than fifteen minutes to try and get any studying done. Changyoon had spent the better part of the afternoon in the kitchen before spending the last hour laying on Minkyun's bed, tapping away on his phone as he asked ridiculous questions that Minkyun refused to answer.

When his vision started to swim, he sat back and took a deep breath. For a moment, his head spun and felt heavy from the sudden shift from staring at words for far too long. Heaving a sigh, he finally got out of his chair then muttered something about getting something to drink when he heard Changyoon ask where he was going.

Shuffling towards the kitchen, he yawned, digging his palms into his eyes as they teared up from the yawn. 

He stepped into the kitchen, then stopped dead in his tracks. On the kitchen counter was a plate . . . with a sandwich on it. Changyoon had been in his room with him for the past hour or so, and this certainly was not here earlier. This wasn't _his_ doing. Maybe.

No, it wasn't likely. 

He heaved a sigh and walked over, examining it for a second. It looked like any other sandwich they'd make, not that they had many sandwich ingredients to choose from. Then he noticed the note.

_'You should remember to eat more often - H'_

Minkyun was not entirely sure when the ghost learned where they kept their pens. Or where they kept the post-it notes. Not even he knew where they kept those and he was the one who bought them. 

Then he remembered he had come out here for something and the distraction that was the sandwich had thoroughly distracted him. It took him no less than 15 whole seconds to remember that he had come out to grab something to drink. Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and the plate off the table, he eventually wandered his way back into his room, completely unsurprised at the sight of Changyoon still laying on his bed.

"What took you so long?" He had asked, not even looking over at him as he sat down.

"Food." Was the only answer he gave. There was a quiet snort, somewhere halfway between a laugh and a sharp intake of air.

"Did the ghost make you that?" 

Minkyun did not reply; only grinned down at his physics textbook, knowing full well Changyoon didn't see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I know hyojin isn't mentioned by name but he's there in spirit. literally. 
> 
> also I know it's a shorter chapter but it's also 666 words so ya know, I figured that's a good place to end it.


	4. PIPE DREAMS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **pipe dream:** _an unattainable or fanciful hope or plan_

Home; such a foreign word to him now.

Seungjun couldn't remember the last time he could consider any one place home.

Red roses; he woke up every morning to a single red rose on his nightside table. He could not recall anyone ever entering his room, but he supposed he wouldn't have noticed in his slumber anyhow.

Rose petals littered the floor, long fallen from the many that decorated his room now. He never bothered to pick them up. 

Outside, it was perpetually sunset, painting the sky in shades of fire. He was never sure why that was.

It stopped mastering a long time ago.

The floors creaked under his weight, an odd echo following every sound. The house was never a home, yet everything was so familiar. 

The lights never worked. Never; it hardly mattered at this point. He knew the layout of the house and everything within better than he knew anything; finding his way around despite the lack of light was child's play.

Somewhere in the distance, there was an eerie howling, almost like a single wolf whose howl echoed to sound like there were more.

Except perhaps there had been more. Seungjun would never know the difference, it hardly mattered to him anyway.

8 pm, the scratching at the door wound always start as soon as the howling stopped.

Time never did flow quite right around here; Seungjun was sure he had just woken up. But it was perpetually sunset, maybe he had just woken up late.

Red roses; they appeared everywhere, their petals staining his fingers red.

Like blood.

Quietly, silently, he plucked a petal off one of the flowers, twirling it between his fingers for a few seconds before letting it fall to the floor.

Home; this was not home. It never was.

His eyes drifted up and landed on a spot outside the window. A cherry blossom tree stood in the distance. 

Had it always been there?

There was someone standing behind it, obscured by the sunset leaving only a shadow, a silhouette of someone he did not know.

They did not move.

There was a chill in the air that was not always there. Somewhere in the house, a lock clicked.

Odd, the locks in this damned house never worked. They all broke a long time ago. It never really mattered; no one else lived in this damned world anyway.

At least, that's what Seungjun thought.

Red roses; he often dreamed in shades of red and pink. Flower petals morphed into drops of blood; sometimes he would stand over a dead body, never knowing whether their death had been by his hand or if he just so happened to stumble across the body.

His eyes would drift up, meeting the eyes of a stranger who felt so familiar to him.

Had they met before? Surely, they hadn't; Seungjun was sure if they had, he would recognize them.

Right?

His closet was full of skeletons; literal and metaphorical. He wasn't when it got there. He wasn't sure how he let so many pile up.

Dreams were odd; Seungjun could no longer tell dreams and nightmares apart; he could no longer differentiate them from reality.

He awoke again to a knock at the door.

The stairs did not make any noises this time when he made his way down them. 

The sun had finally set when he answered the door.

He was met with a man, blood red eyes the colour of red roses and a grin sharp as knives.

"It's been a very long time, Seungjun."

Behind him, the roses withered, their petals dripping blood; they stained everything dark crimson in place of the colours of the setting sun. 

It reeked of death; it reeked of something sickeningly sweet.

"Yes, Minkyun." Seungjun whispered, holding his gaze, neither of them blinking, "It has been a long time."


End file.
